Herban Sprawl

For anywhere from a million to nearly four million, we could buy a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house and move to Minnesota. My brother-in-law keeps me up to date on all the Wrightian news, and the other day he sent a piece from the N.Y. Times about two homes that are currently on the market. We are all FLLW fanatics in our family.

I didn’t used to like the Usonian houses until I visited Kentuck Knob, a home designed for the owners of the local dairy near Bear Run, PA. But then I “got it.” I was a Fallingwater Resident that year, one of thirteen teachers chosen nationwide to live and study architecture at what is arguably the world’s most famous private summer home. Kentuck Knob is owned by that cute little dark-haired guy standing next to the limo in that picture of Princess Diana in the skin-tight stunning black cocktail dress. He’s Lord Palumbo and he made his money in the London real estate business. He collects architecturally significant buildings like I collect Dept. 56 lighted Chicago landmarks.

I think the reason I have begun to appreciate the Usonians is that they appeal to the way I’ve come to live. I used to think we needed to have a separate den where we could watch television and leave our piles of books and papers with impunity. I thought a living room that was kept tidy for guests was the thing to do. The House Goddess has erased that concept with one look and shake of her head. “What’s this pile of paper you ain’t touched in four months, Girl?”

And indeed, about the only thing I don’t much like about the Usonians would be the kitchen and dining arrangements. I like a bigger kitchen, but I’d be happy with another galley style kitchen, as long as it was properly set up. I prefer a separate dining room for parties, but I like an eat-in kitchen for just us. Wright used to lavish attention on dining rooms in the Prairie houses, but the Usonians got a built-in table that was usually attached to a wall at one end. They just don’t foster great dinner conversation and conviviality.

The more I watch the dismal housing market and the mushroom-like development of McMansions that teeter off hillsides like Snuffy Smith’s cabin, the more I’ve come to realize that Big Kitty and I have a rather unorthodox set of ideas, as compared to what the contractors are trying to sell to a pretty aesthetically challenged American public. I am reminded of one of Les Moore’s remarks in Funky Winkerbean when he and Lisa were house hunting. He was looking at a McMansion and commented, “It looks like it was built by Frank Lloyd Wrong.”  I couldn’t agree more, Les.

I am glad we listened to Bubba Chet and rejected the notion of a house built on a slab. Where do you go during a tornado warning? As we learned last week, they may be an anomaly for our area, but the warnings should always be heeded. Besides, where else would the cat boxes go?! Usonians didn’t have basements, either -

As I watch the so-called green home that was built last year and is still unsold, it hit me that the house is low on common areas and big on private areas. The opposite is true of a Usonian. The long, lean lines of the Usonian, with its siting specifically arranged to take advantage of solar energy, would be stellar made with today’s technology. A Usonian loggia constructed of Trex? The radiant heating that could be run with thermal core energy? The technology of tilt-in windows with R-ratings that would protect the home from the elements while bathing it in sunshine? Mr. Wright would be in hog heaven. So would I. And wouldn’t it be nice to construct a little compound of these ADA approved homes? Talk about cradle to cradle!